Ashley Do Nascimento, Denise (pseudonym, female youth)
Day 1 back at the farm! It felt great to return back and see some familiar faces. Eager to plan out the week, the group of us sat around and brainstormed some ideas. We tossed around some questions and pieces to think with, keeping in mind what we had already explored last year. We welcomed two new individuals to the group this year who also posed some interesting questions relating to water and its current place in 21st century climate change. Our provocations are offered below:
-Does water stop? Does it have a beginning or an ending point?
-Who has access? Who is denied access?
-Who profits? Who controls water and access to water?
-How can we better understand a) Indigenous ways of knowing about water, and b) how can we use Indigenous perspectives and understandings of water to engage better with water?
-How is the use of water affected by Industrialization?
-What does the treatment of water look like?
We explored some of these questions as we hiked alongside the Redhill Valley Creek. Upon our return to the farm, we watched a documentary called “Poisoned Water” about the Flint Michigan Water Crisis… more to come about that later!
